


the beautiful world

by meng_ren



Series: Companion!verse AU [1]
Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Companions, Alternate Universe - Firefly Setting, Gen, References to Asian Culture, Unreciprocated Emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 00:45:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9523859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meng_ren/pseuds/meng_ren
Summary: The Companions were not mere whores. They were the most famous courtesans in the galaxy - elegant, sophisticated, and cultured. But even the finest Companion had an origin story.Kim Myungsoo's path was not an easy one. It began when he was an orphan living in the desolate wasteland of Beaumonde. A series of chance encounters set him on the path of a Companion. But it was Myungsoo's education and training aboard the space stationInfinitethat taught him what it meant to feel.[Firefly/Serenity+Memoirs of a Geisha!AU]





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story took up far more time than I expected.
> 
> Two acknowledgments are in order. I'll start with a shout out to CaideSin's story _Wait and Hope_ on fanfiction.net, which helped inspire this work. I'd also like to thank Annie, whose helpful advice as a beta persuaded me not to scrap this story.
> 
> I am currently on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/west_of_autumn).

Long ago, there was the story of Earth-that-was. It had been a beautiful place, and the origin of all civilization. But the planet ate itself, buried itself underneath its own filth and trash. So humanity fled into the stars, never to return.

That was not Kim Myungsoo’s story. His story was one of Beaumonde, a planet with its own tales. And he would not get to tell his story for some time.

\---

Despite what Alliance propaganda might have suggested, Unification had not been kind to Beaumonde. The planet was in Eastern Space, close enough to the core worlds so that the inhabitants knew how civilization expected them to act, but far enough that the Alliance’s presence was a ghost. When the Independents rose up in rebellion, Beaumonde joined them. After all, what did the Alliance have to provide for Beaumonde’s downtrodden? The planet’s name meant “the beautiful world,” but its poor lived under perpetually grey skies, subsisted on protein feed that the Alliance would not have fed to cattle, and depended on drinking water so caustic it burned their throats. Beaumonde chose to declare for the Independents, and the Alliance responded with military force.

To this day, there are still places in Beaumonde where mentioning the Alliance’s Eastern Space Army will cause the local people to enter catatonic shock.

Myungsoo had been orphaned during the Unification War, or so he assumed: he had been discovered as a baby on the banks of the River Zhu, besides the bullet-riddled bodies of two people assumed to be his parents. Were they murdered by Alliance forces? By Independent soldiers? By any one of the ragtag bands of pirates, thieves, and gangsters who ruled where Alliance control was weak? Myungsoo never knew, and he never cared.

He grew up in the orphanage at Norfolk Abbey, under the watchful eyes of the Shepherds. These men and women of the cloth lived out their faith by trying to civilize a despondent corner of the universe that had been exposed to the barbarity of Alliance enlightenment. The Shepherds did not just set up a school: they also taught Myungsoo what it meant to be a person. Because of that, Myungsoo did care about their work. Though he never embraced the faith of the Shepherds, he did take their lessons to heart. That included his nightly prayers, kneeling at the foot of his bed, praying to God to leave the orphanage.

His prayers were answered when he was woken in the middle of the night by a slaver, tightly grabbing at his neck. He remembered flailing weakly, spots clouding his vision, as he tried to escape. The last thing he saw, before he fainted, was the sight of two Shepherds bleeding to death on the floor. And then there was blackness.

Kim Myungsoo was then nine years old.

\---

He awoke some time later in the cargo hold of a space freighter. The slaver who had kidnapped him from the orphanage was standing over him, and Myungsoo burst into tears at the situation. Even though he was no more than a child, he knew he had been kidnapped to be sold into slavery. Moments later, he was pulled to his feet and marched out into the Persephone spaceport, and made to kneel in the dirt. He recognized over a dozen other children from the abbey, and he knew they must have made a pathetic sight. Their bodies were unwashed, and they were all dressed in filthy _hanbok_ that had once been white but were now grey with grime. Myungsoo gave a sniffle, scratching at his nose and wiping at his face. But when he looked up, he saw a sight he would remember for the rest of his life.

There was a woman standing there, who Myungsoo knew came from a different world. Her name was Madam Takigawa, and she was a Companion.

Her skin was an ivory white, matched by an immaculate _cheongsam_ that was the color of pure cream. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and at her throat was a collar of rich black felt. Likewise, her silken gloves were also dyed black. Even without her black heels, she still would have stood taller than the slaver besides her.

Myungsoo would, not surprisingly, remember the first words he ever heard her say.

“I said ‘no blondes,’” said the Madam with a frown, glaring daggers at the slaver. “Half of these children are blond.”

Her English was perfect in ways that Myungsoo had never heard before. The Shepherds had tried to educate him in English and Mandarin, the two official languages of the Alliance, but Myungsoo had stubbornly stuck to the base and guttural English creole native to Beaumonde. This woman’s language was the most polished he had ever heard.

“I’m, ugh, sorry,” said the slaver, trying his best to speak in English to the Companion on her level. “It was, uhm, nighttime when we, uh, grabbed them.”

“The Companions Guild had a simple request. ‘No blondes.’ We are already up to our necks in blond trainees. All we were hoping for, today, was a bit of variety,” she said, with a sigh. She put a hand to her chin as she surveyed the orphans before her, many of whom were rocking on their heels or sobbing silently. Her next words changed Myungsoo’s life. “You there, the boy with the black hair.”

Myungsoo peered around him. There was a brunet next to him, and two redheads a few feet away, and several girls by the freighter with black hair, but as far as Myungsoo could tell, there were no other black-haired boys amongst the orphans.

“Yes, you,” said the Companion, looking annoyed. “Are there any other people here who fit your description? Come here, and be quick about it, before I leave you here.”

Myungsoo scrambled to his feet, running before the Companion, and stopping as soon as the Companion gave an annoyed grimace. He stood in front of her, peering up, hesitation in his every breath.

“What’s your name?” she asked. If there had been any kindness or warmth in her tone, the words may have sounded elegant. But even the venom in her voice could not conceal the harsh beauty in her accent.

“Kim Myungsoo,” said the boy, trying not to make eye contact. He stared at the black collar instead.

There was something in that name which softened her. Perhaps it was an ethnic or racial affinity. Or perhaps she just liked the sound of it. “And what does it mean?” She continued, her voice now polite, if not respectful.

“Kim means ‘gold,’ because I was found by the gold refineries. Myung means ‘bright’ and Soo is because I was found on the banks of the Zhu River,” Myungsoo stammered, with fits and starts, trying to speak English the way the Shepherds taught him.

Madam Takigawa nodded, but Myungsoo could not decipher the meaning behind her expression. “Look at me,” she said, and the woman reached down to grab Myungsoo’s chin, tilting his head up to look at his eyes. And Myungsoo stared back, so vigorously that he could still remember the woman’s icy-blue eyes to this very day.

The two of them continued to stare at each other, for almost a minute, before something impressed the Madam. She let go of Myungsoo’s chin and turned instead to the slaver.

“Next time the Guild sends you a request, you need to follow it to the word,” she hissed, causing the slaver to recoil. “I’ll take the boy with the black hair. Take him to the Persephone training house. You deal with the rest of the orphans in your usual manner.”

And she turned her heels, and walked away. Myungsoo continued to stare at her, trying to remember all of the details about her that he could: her platinum-blond hair, her svelte frame, and the authoritative way she carried herself. For the boy, it had been like an encounter with a person of a higher plane. For the first time in his life, Myungsoo realized just how small and shabby his life had been on Beaumonde.

He would see Madam Takigawa again, but it would be years later.

\---

On a Core Planet, children began their Companion training at age twelve. Persephone was different, though. Unlike Beaumonde, Persephone was in the center of the Rim Worlds, neither part of the core nor part of Eastern Space. It had a planet-sized inferiority complex, regarding itself the equal to the Core Worlds, yet the Alliance considered Persephone nothing more than a second-rate imitation of a true Core Planet like Sihnon or Londinium. It was no surprise that Persephone was the first planet that declared for the Independents. Yet Persephone was civilized: it was also the first planet that yielded to the Alliance, rather than risk the devastation of warfare. In the end, it would only be a Rim planet.

The Persephone Training House, then, differed from its counterparts in the Core. Companions began their training at fourteen, instead of twelve. But first, the initiates needed to prove themselves worthy.

Myungsoo started school as a mere student of nine years. The Companions Guild was not run by whores alone: it needed its own clerks, scribes, laborers, and attendants, almost all of whom were produced internally. The Training Houses were boarding schools, and were the sole source of future Companions. But one of the first things Myungsoo was told, when he was barely aware of what was a Companion, was that not all of the graduates of the Training House would be Companions. Some would graduate to become trainees at the age of fourteen. Some would graduate to serve the Guild in some auxiliary role. And some would drop out to return to society, and the Guild would recoup the cost of education in some other way.

It took years for Myungsoo to adjust to the Training House, and he turned fourteen soon afterwards.

The Training House was run by former Companions, both male and female, who taught him very much like the Shepherds had once tried. Forcioli taught Mandarin and art. Xiong taught English and biology. Kreuzer taught mathematics and history. Sarosy taught physics and music. In the backdrop of what was otherwise a comprehensive liberal education was the ultimate fact that the school was producing Companions.

In retrospect, Myungsoo realized that his view of the Companions was very much dependent on his life in the Training House. He never had the exposure of other children his age, who encountered the Companions on holo-screens or fashion rags. But like children his age, he was fully aware that the Companions were a class of their own.

After five years of school, seven days each week out of the nine-day weeks on Persephone, Myungsoo and the other top performers in the school were summoned to the Training House’s central hall and made to sit on the floor. They were the Cohort #345 of the Persephone Training House, almost one hundred boys and girls, and today was Graduation Day. Myungsoo performed decently well in his graduating class, graduating at rank #29.

There were a dozen Companions seated by Headmistress Cheung, and all of them were watching the students with intense interest. These women were Priestesses, the Headmistress explained, and they each represented a different Companion House.

Headmistress Cheung looked beatifically serene as she explained to Cohort #345 that it was now time for each student to decide whether he or she would advance to the next step of a Companion’s education.

“Being a Companion is no easy thing, and should not be treated as such,” she said, intoning gravely. “We are not lowly whores, despite what naysayers whisper. We strive to be elegant, cultured, sophisticated, and respected. We have been adept at doing so.”

Myungsoo listened, rapt. But as he looked around, he could see that most of the boys in his cohort were fidgeting and unattentive. Even many of the girls seemed hesitant.

“The Companions takes people regardless of whether they are male or female, gay or straight. We will provide for you. You will not go hungry. You will be healthy. You will be safe. We are protected by the state, in addition to being sanctioned by the state,” explained the Headmistress, encouraging them to join.

Some students seemed to have made up their minds already. But more of the students were now alert, paying attention to what the woman had to say. Myungsoo numbered among the latter.

“Yet our life is not one of luxury,” continued the headmistress, now becoming stern. “A Companion forever swears allegiance to the Guild, and obedience to its rules and practices. Decisions about career, marriage, and children will be taken out of your hands and placed under the mantle of the Companion House for the rest of your life. You will not be able to flee. But the Guild will nurture you and protect you till the end of your days. All you need to do is join.”

It was Myungsoo’s turn to think, quickly. He had never, in his entire life, wanted to be a Companion. But he had gone to school knowing what the Training House was seeking. And now the offer was presented before him.

The headmistress gave her last few instructions. “Each Companion House has looked over your scores, and you all have admittance to at least one. You will be able to switch Houses if circumstances require it, so do not be too wary. I will now let the Priestesses announce which trainees they have selected.”

Myungsoo’s eyes flashed towards the woman who first walked to the podium. Ice-blue eyes. Platinum blonde hair. It was Madam Takigawa again, looking as regal as the day Myungsoo first saw her.

She was also as blunt as ever. “I am Madam Takigawa, the Priestess for Companion House Terakoya. I have selected the following six trainees.” She rattled off a list of names. “Villeneuve M., #4. Ngo R., #8. Sessa L., #10. Mendez A., #18. Sheeley B., #25. Kim M. #29. That is all.” And then she returned to her seat.

The other Priestesses followed her, reading names that Myungsoo never heard, as he sat and stared and thought. _It was her again. It was her,_ his thoughts ran, as he tried to comprehend what was happening. _First the orphanage. Now today at the Training House._ And then the announcement was over, as Headmistress Cheung returned to the podium.

“I need to stress to all of the students that you are under no obligation to join. You do not owe the Guild a lifetime of service. The life of a Companion is not for everybody. You can turn around and walk away,” she said, as solemn as possible. “But if you choose to be a Companion, please follow the Priestess who called your name.”

Myungsoo stepped forward, and he never looked back.

\---

The next two years proceeded much as before. The changes were mainly in curriculum. Myungsoo was taught the complexities of Guild rules and custom, including the famous tea ceremony that all Companions were famed for. The teachers also introduced the Companion trainees to martial arts, psychotherapy, and the art of reading body language. They also made sure that his English and Mandarin was as refined and sophisticated as any Alliance aristocrat.

Things truly changed for him after his sixteenth birthday, when he was sent to the _Infinite._

He went through a curious little ritual that officially dismissed him from the Training House. At the local spaceport, Headmistress Cheung was there to see him off while Madam Takigawa arrived to take him. The contrast between the two figures could not have been more stark: Cheung had dark hair and dark features, and was as kind and good-hearted as the Madam was cold and pale. Myungsoo gave the headmistress a wave as he boarded a spacecraft. He never saw her again.

Madam Takigawa in her regal and aloof tone, explained the following: The _Infinite_ was one of the a space stations belonging to the Companion House Terakoya. It was based in the _Gion_ , a bloc of space designated as a pleasure district. Myungsoo would train there along with male Companions and trainees. The Training Houses had provided him with a rudimentary education, but it was now time for Myungsoo to learn his ways in what the Guild called the ‘intimate arts.’ This required hands-on experience from older trainees and Companions. If he passed, he could be a Companion. He still had the chance to change his mind. He could serve the Guild in other ways.

Myungsoo had learned enough of the way of the Companions. He told her he wanted to go forward, and Madam Takigawa grudgingly accepted it. She escorted Myungsoo to the _Infinite_ but proceeded no further.

Myungsoo was tackled the minute he stepped past the airlock.

His greeter was a rather short man with very white, clean teeth and a prominent forehead. Myungsoo stepped back slightly, in shock, with his field of vision occupied by the man’s wide smile.

 _"Yige xin de ren lai le! Ta laizi Puxifenni!"_ [1] The man’s language was Mandarin, as he shouted towards the rest of the space station.

It took another few seconds for Myungsoo to look at the man and note the contrast between them. Myungsoo was wearing a Western-style suit, of wool dyed blue, to mark a rather important occasion. The man before him, however, was wearing nothing but sarong of green silk, displaying the corded muscle of his shoulders and stomach. There was also the scent of cologne in the air, with an intense, citrusy scent. Myungsoo felt his face turn red. The other man was pleasing to the senses.

He turned back towards Myungsoo, still smiling, and letting his tongue poke slightly from his lips.

“Don’t look so scared. The Guild told us you were coming,” he explained, trying to be soothing. His language had switched back to English.

“I’m Kim Myungsoo,” Myungsoo said, stammering and trying to introduce himself. _“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”_ [2]

The other man took one of Myungsoo’s hands in one of his own, shaking vigorously.

“I’m Jang Dongwoo, the senior trainee aboard this station. I’m here to guide you around this station. If you have any problems, come to me,” said the older man. “ _Ni mingbai ma?”_ [3]

Myungsoo gave a nod, but the other man was already pulling him through the rest of the space station.

“Here’s your room. You can decorate the room in due time, and you’ll need to pick up after yourself, but don’t worry about keeping it too clean. You’re always permitted to ask the station to send a servant or a cleaner to assist you,” Dongwoo said, showing Myungsoo a rather sparsely decorated room clad in stainless steel. Myungsoo did admit that the mattress looked thick, the blankets looked soft, and room was clean. Myungsoo had only a few seconds to set down the belongings that he had taken with him from Persephone, and then Dongwoo had him by the arm again.

“Here’s the kitchen and the mess hall, where you can cook for yourself or eat what the station has prepared for you. Just remember that the Guild will be looking at your weight, so don’t feel too liberated,” continued Dongwoo. “Here’s the common room where the male trainees and Companions can hang out. Other there are some more sleeping quarters. Down the hall is the library, where you can have your own office. Here’s a small chapel. And this is the where we have the theater. The thermostat’s by the other airlock; you can feel already that we like to keep the station warm.”

Myungsoo could tell that Dongwoo was being genuinely enthusiastic and friendly as he escorted Myungsoo around the station. The man made sure to keep one hand on Myungsoo’s shoulder as he pointed out various amenities and accommodations. 

“There’s the gym, where we have the exercise machines, and here’s the sparring room. Spend a lot of time here. The medical station is down by there. Don’t spend time there,” Dongwoo continued to point out. But despite all of the things Dongwoo showed, Myungsoo felt there was something missing.

“Where are all of the people?” Myungsoo asked.

Dongwoo took a second to think, put a finger to his chin as he looked up, and turned back towards Myungsoo. “There’s not that many of us. Sunggyu and Howon are entertaining clients today. We have two more trainees coming in a few months, due to the Guild’s rotation schedule. For today, this entire station is just for the permanent benefit of me, you, and Woohyun. Other trainees, male and female, come in and out to train and visit, but there will only be five of us living here on a long-term basis.”

Myungsoo nodded again. “And is there anything else for me to see?”

“Woohyun, of course!” Beamed the older man. “Give me a second to find him. I know he should be getting off his lazy butt to greet you. Let me find him. Maybe he’s in the lounge.” Dongwoo kept one hand on Myungsoo’s back as he directed them into the lounge.

Lying on the couch was an extremely attractive man, pale and slender with hair dyed silver. He was wearing a gray _kimono_ , but left the front of the robe open, displaying that he was only wearing a pair of black briefs underneath. Myungsoo could see that the man’s skin was clear and smooth, and he had a light, floral scent to him. He peered at Myungsoo with a curious look and beckoned him approach with a flick of his foot. Myungsoo saw that the man’s toenails were painted in a pleasant baby-blue shade.

“So you’re the new kid, huh?” The man said.

Some time after that, Myungsoo resumed breathing after he realized his face had flushed a deep red. When he looked the man in the eye, he saw that the older man had a small smile.

“I’m Kim Myungsoo,” Myungsoo managed to say. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Nam Woohyun,” said the other man. “The pleasure is mine. Dongwoo is older and he’s had more training, but you can come to me for help if you need.”

Myungsoo scrunched his eyes shut and nodded his head furiously, trying to keep his eyes off of the man’s chest and stomach. He heard Dongwoo give a laugh from next to him.

“Alright, now you’ve gotten to meet me and Woohyun. Let’s get you showered up, and then tomorrow we can go to the Companion House Terakoya’s main station, alright,” Dongwoo said. “Don’t be nervous. You’ll get along with us great.”

\---

“Are you excited for your first day as a real Companion trainee?” Dongwoo asked, rocking back and forth on his heels in excitement.

Myungsoo gulped, turned to look at Woohyun and Dongwoo besides him, and gave a hesitant nod.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” he said, hesitantly.

“The ‘intimate arts,’” said Dongwoo, with a snicker.

“Sex,” Woohyun responded flatly. “You’ll have sex.”

Myungsoo gave another gulp, and the two men beside him noticed.

“You haven’t done it yet?” Woohyun said. “I know you Rim world trainees are older.”

“I’m sixteen,” Myungsoo admitted.

“A good time,” Dongwoo said, looking serious with a nod of his head. “You’ll be in the best hands. Literally.” He took his own hands, palms facing outward, for emphasis.

“We’ll be training you,” said Woohyun, to make sure Myungsoo understood the meaning.

There was a hiss as their small shuttle docked with the Terakoya main station, and the three of them stepped out. A female trainee, small and pretty, met with them to set their schedule, and directed Myungsoo towards the medical quarters.

“It’s for the snip, you see,” Dongwoo said. 

“The snip?” Myungsoo said, curious.

“The sterilization process that all Companions have to go through,” explained Woohyun. “We don’t get all the details. We know that for men, it’s a vasectomy with something added extra. I’ve heard that for women it’s actually a full hysterectomy.”

Myungsoo paused again. “Because as Companions, we’re not allowed to conceive or bear children, unless we get the Guild’s special permission.”

“Yes,” said Dongwoo again. “The Guild explains it in career terms. Can you imagine a Companion getting pregnant by her client? Or a Companion getting his client pregnant? It’s also a safety issue. Pregnancy is hazardous, and not every Companion traveling alone has access to medicine. Then there’s worries about rape, and the social stigma to children born of Companions.”

“But it’s all about control,” Woohyun said, almost darkly. “All Companions have to go through it.”

“Is it reversible?” Myungsoo asked. He did remember that Companions were expected to never have children.

“Not that anybody knows of,” said Woohyun. Myungsoo briefly wondered if the man’s smile was a sad and regretful one.

The three of them made their way into the doctor’s office. The doctor present was an attractive brunette, and possibly a former Companion. She raised an eyebrow at Dongwoo and Woohyun.

“Nam Woohyun, I see that your years of Companion education were not wasted. You learned to tie your kimono,” smirked the doctor. “And Dongwoo, I see you’ve heeded my advice. If you actually wear clothes, you can avoid a chill.”

Dongwoo took no offense to that statement. “Yes, ma’am. Doctor Warnock, we have a new trainee for you. For the snip.”

“Just the snip? Not the full workup?” She replied.

“What’s the full workup?” Myungsoo whispered to Woohyun.

“The snip and the Companion mark. It’s a tracker we get to let the Guild know our whereabouts,” explained Woohyun. “For some, it takes the form of a tattoo. This one is reversible.” He pulled his kimono away from his chest. Myungsoo saw the infinite sign on Woohyun’s left collarbone, a black and shimmering figure-eight against otherwise pale skin.

Dongwoo took the time to show Myungsoo his own, hiking up his sarong to brazenly display the tattoo on his left thigh.

“And is the kid getting it? It’s not hard for me to do both procedures at once,” said the doctor. 

“I’ll take it,” Myungsoo said, trying to sound assertive for once. 

“Good. So you’ll take the snip and the tattoo?” Asked the doctor. “Be sure, and don’t rush. You can undergo the process anytime before your debut.”

Myungsoo shook his head. “I know I’ll be a Companion. I’ll take everything. But Woohyun, Dongwoo, could you not leave?”

The two men nodded, and they stayed in the range of eyesight as Myungsoo underwent the operation.

The snip itself finished in under fifteen minutes. The doctor placed Myungsoo under a sterile hood that encased Myungsoo like a casket. Only she could see, or hear, how the operation went. The last thing Myungsoo felt was the doctor applying some topical analgesic to his groin. He did not witness the incision.

It was finished soon afterwards. The doctor snapped her latex gloves off and donned a fresh pair. “And where will your Companion mark go?”

Myungsoo pointed to his left wrist. “Right here, please.”

The doctor swabbed Myungsoo’s wrist, then applied some sort of pad across the skin. She peeled it off moments later, and there was a tattoo across Myungsoo’s wrist. There was no pain in the process. Myungsoo took the time to stare at the figure, shimmering and glowing in the light.

“Well, that’s it. Unless you have another trainee for me,” said the doctor. “Don’t do any heavy activity unless you want to end up back here. 

Woohyun and Dongwoo both nodded, and then they headed out with Myungsoo.

“Oh, Doctor Warnock. She’s a great doctor, but her bedside manner could use some improvement,” said Woohyun, as they made their way through the station. “I like how she fixed my broken nose though.”

Myungsoo had to do a double-take. Woohyun’s nose looked perfect, like it had never been marred.

“You’re lucky, Myungsoo,” continued Dongwoo. “You’re getting a professional to train you. Here’s the room where they might break you in.” He opened a soundproofed room.

For the third time since arriving, Myungsoo was forced to turn away as he realized what the training room was for. There were over a dozen beds, almost all occupied by at least one couple having sexual intercourse, in a variety of pairs. Most were occupied by two women, but some were occupied by a man and a woman.

There was another Madam there, on the shorter side and pleasingly plump, giving gentle guidance to some of the coupling pairs.

“You’re going too fast. Yes, she can take it, but not all of your female clients are so capable. No, don’t put your hand there. No, no, not there either. Yes, now squeeze it like it means something. No, don’t pinch it like—Oh, hello Woohyun! And Dongwoo! Who’s this new fellow you have?” She said, now turning towards them.

“Madam Cienfuegos,” Woohyun said. “Your two favorite teachers are here,” he said with a smile.

“I see that. My ladies need suitable partners, and the two of you are always suitable,” said the Madam. She turned towards Myungsoo instead. “And you are?”

“Kim Myungsoo,” stammered Myungsoo.

“The Guild told me about you, and decided to pair you up with Lee Howon. He’s in his private room,” she said. “You’ll have fun, Myungsoo. Howon is a good Companion. He doesn’t have much time to train you, but his guidance will be valuable. And Woohyun, Dongwoo. Stay here. This flock needs you..”

With that, Woohyun and Dongwoo departed, and Myungsoo took his leave. 

Room #856 was where Madam Cienfuegos had told him to go. The door was made of unmarked steel. Myungsoo cleared his throat, and knocked.

 _“Qingjin,”_ [4] said a deep voice from inside, and the door opened automatically.

\---

There was a man sitting on the floor when Myungsoo entered, wearing a pair of cotton shorts and a thin undershirt. He turned to Myungsoo and fixed a curious gaze on the trainee. Though the man’s features were striking and his figure suggested physical strength, there was no hostility in the man’s look.

“I’m Kim Myungsoo,” said Myungsoo, giving his deepest bow possible. “I was told to come here for a lesson.” He could already feel sweat beginning to trickle on his back and under his arms. “It’s my first day on the main station, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and I’ve never done this before,” he continued to speak, with the words escaping before he could think.

The man raised a hand while seated. “And I’m Lee Howon. I know you’re supposed to be here. You came with Dongwoo and Woohyun, right?”

Myungsoo nodded, thoughts still racing. “I’m really new, I’m sorry. I just came here from Persephone, and I’m still getting used to everything, and I just saw the training room, and there must have been a dozen people there,” he continued to speak, still hesitant. “I know—or at least I think I know—that you’re supposed to train me.”

“We’re mostly adults here,” said Howon, giving a small smirk, “or close enough. You don’t need to be polite. I’m supposed to fuck you.”

The only way Myungsoo could have concealed the redness of his face was to turn away, but that would have been too rude, so he only stared down at the ground hoping that his face would return to its normal color. His reaction only made Howon laugh.

“Come here,” said Howon, patting the ground. He grabbed a cushion from his nearby bed. Myungsoo took the time to note that the room was richly furnished, with wooden panels covering the steel walls, and bamboo tatami mats underneath their feet. The smell of incense hung in the air, thick with the scents of sandalwood and cloves. “I have to prepare the ceremony.”

Myungsoo took his seat on the floor, as Howon stood up and began grabbing utensils from a wooden cabinet. “What ceremony do you mean?”

“It’s my own version of the _chanoyu_. Every Companion uses a tea ceremony to mark the beginning of a client relationship,” Howon said, referring to the tea ceremony. “I wanted to do similar for everybody that I train. It’s what my mentor did for me.”

He was assembling most of the ceramics before him, such as the bowls and brazier. He laid a small table between Myungsoo’s mat and his own, and carefully placed each piece of equipment in its proper place. Myungsoo knew this was not the full tea ceremony that the Training House had demonstrated for future Companions, but it was close. He shifted his pose into the _seiza_ , sitting on his shins and resting on his heels.

“You don’t need to be so formal,” Howon said, as he began boiling the water. “I just want this to be a time to know you. I don’t want this to be awkward between us.”

Myungsoo nodded and unfolded his legs, sitting cross-legged on the floor again. The water was not yet ready, and Howon only seemed half-prepared, but the other man resumed sitting down, facing Myungsoo.

“So, Myungsoo, tell me if you’ve done this before,” he said. 

Myungsoo looked at him. He figured that the other man couldn’t be too much older than him. “No, I haven’t.”

“How old are you?” 

“Sixteen.”

The man took a second to think on that. “That’s a fair age for this. Where are you from?”

Myungsoo made the effort to sit up straight to answer that question. “I was born on Beaumonde, but I moved to the Persephone Training House when I was nine. I stayed there till a few days ago, when I came to Ariel.”

“Beaumonde, right? I thought I could tell from your accent. You had to be from Eastern Space,” Howon said. “Some clients think Companions from Eastern Space are different in bed. But really it’s all about the training. Where do you guess I’m from?”

Howon’s accent had the pleasant lilt of the Core worlds, though his deeper voice made his speech unique.

“Sihnon?” Myungsoo asked, referring to the Verse’s cultural capital. He actually thought Howon’s speech was just a little bit too rough compared to the refined Sihnon tongue, but he couldn’t quite place Howon’s origin.

“I was born on Osiris, so you’re close,” said Howon. Osiris was also a Core Planet, considered almost as sophisticated as Sihnon. “I started attending the Training House there when I was twelve. I lost my virginity on a mattress like the one behind you when I was fifteen.”

Myungsoo nodded, and in his nervousness he could only stare at the empty teacups before him. Howon now removed the boiling water from the brazier to let the water cool.

“Are you worried? I’ll be gentle,” Howon said, trying to be gentle. “But first I’ve got a personal question. Is it okay if I ask?”

Myungsoo nodded again, still silent.

“Do you like men?” Howon asked.

Myungsoo’s body gave a jolt as he looked at Howon in surprise. There was something in that question that made everything about Myungsoo’s situation suddenly seem so real to him. It was the cognitive distance between _Kim Myungsoo will become a Companion_ and _There will be men or women with their hands on my body, their lips on mine, over me, inside me_ , which closed in just a second. Myungsoo wondered about Howon’s question to himself, to get an answer.

Howon sensed something in Myungsoo’s reaction and gave a laugh to defuse the tension. “Don’t be surprised, Myungsoo. We’re male Companions. Our profession almost entirely consists of men getting fucked by men. After all, 90% of our clients are men. But you should know that, unless the Training Houses taught you nothing.”

Myungsoo gave a defensive scowl, to hide his thoughts as he kept thinking. “I knew that. I know not all male Companions are gay. I just didn’t understand whether we’re expected to be gay or straight.”

“You’re asking a good question for a trainee,” said Howon, now turning to the hot water. He began adding the _matcha_ to a small cup of water, mixing the tea powder with a whisk. “Now, I know none of the academies ever discuss the statistics, but I estimate that over half of male Companions are straight. It plays out here, too. Woohyun is attracted to men, but Dongwoo isn’t. It doesn’t impact our work at all.”

“How come it doesn’t affect anything?” Myungsoo said, having yet to answer Howon’s question. The man did not answer initially, choosing instead to hand Myungsoo a cup of green tea. Myungsoo took it and drank. The water was hot, but not enough to burn his tongue, and the tea flavor was pleasant.

“Because there’s more to us than fucking,” Howon said, before taking his own sip. “Our profession and our art sells companionship. We endeavor to have a real, humanistic bond with our clients. On the other hand, our bodies sell sex instead. In doing so, we act out a commercialized fantasy. Our interest in either men or women never comes into it.”

By now, both had finished their cups, so Howon prepared another bowl of tea. He retrieved Myungsoo’s cup, wiped the rim with a clean cloth, and filled it with tea again. He used both hands to present the cup back to Myungsoo. 

“So which are you? Boys or girls?” Howon asked.

“Boys,” said Myungsoo. He drained his cup of tea in another long sip. Now feeling slightly more confident, he proceeded to elaborate. “It took away from the stigma of the job. I was an orphan. I never had parents. If the Shepherds who raised me knew what I was doing now, they’d explode.”

Howon gave another laugh. “It’s true that many Companions take refuge in the Three Jewels, but there are Christians among us too.” He finished his cup, and began to pack up his equipment. When he was done, he moved over to the bed. “It’s good getting to know you, Myungsoo, but we should get started. You should start by getting rid of those clothes. Get the shower started, and I’ll join you inside. Get cleaned up, and then I’ll clean _you_.”

Howon’s eyes were now glinting, and his expression now looked mischievous as well as bold. Myungsoo felt his body tingle, just slightly, and he didn’t know whether it was from fear or excitement.

Myungsoo noted some time later that his first time having sex was not rapturous ecstasy. But Howon’s lips were soft against his own, and were tender against his skin, and his hands applied only light pressure when shifting Myungsoo into the needed position on the bed. He entered Myungsoo slowly, pausing as often as necessary until the trainee was comfortable. Howon went gently when Myungsoo was shaking, quicker in tempo when Myungsoo was moaning, and finished first, ejaculating on Myungsoo’s back. Howon was not awkward in the least as he helped Myungsoo release, stroking Myungsoo until the new trainee climaxed.

They lay there for a few short moments after they had finished, until Howon arose from the bed and offered Myungsoo a hand.

“You lasted longer than I expected,” Howon said with a smile. “Do you think you can walk to the showers?”

“My legs might shake,” Myungsoo answered, giving a pout and a smile for the first time since he entered the room. 

“Then I’ll help you get cleaned. Again,” Howon said, and Myungsoo took his hand.

It wasn’t until Myungsoo was heading back to his dorm, sandwiched in the shuttle between Dongwoo and Woohyun, that he realized something about Howon. The Companion had mentioned many things about his personal life during the tea ceremony. But he never said anything about his sexual orientation.

\---

The next six months proceeded with Myungsoo as the youngest trainee onboard. His education increased its pace. He continued to be schooled in the auspices of culture: poetry and painting, history and politics. His musical training, with the _shamisen_ and the _gayageum_ , continued at the same pace. His martial arts training, with Howon and Woohyun and Dongwoo, was still rudimentary, with the three men emphasizing that he was not yet expected to be a great physical fighter.

The sex, though, was even more physically straining.

It was once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. Everyday. It was both penetrative and receptive. It involved all of the men on the station, and even some trainees from the other Companion Houses. And after a while, it began to grow repetitive. And that was always a reminder to Myungsoo that all of this effort was not born from emotion or pleasure. It was purely work.

Dongwoo was the easiest out of Myungsoo’s recurring partners. The shorter man generally stuck to a receptive role, straddling Myungsoo and moving his hips up and down. He explained to Myungsoo, over breakfast one day at the station’s canteen, that taking the receptive role was easy for him.

“I actually think you’re rather pretty,” Dongwoo said, before biting half of a _mantou_ bun, “but I’m not into men. They just don’t interest me. It’s easier to be on the receiving end because there’s less demand to stay hard the entire time. For you though, you can stay hard if you’re somewhat interested in your partner, right?”

Myungsoo nodded. Dongwoo was not a large man, but his muscles were sturdy on his compact frame, and his leonine face gave him a sleek handsomeness. “I think you’re good looking too.”

“I know it,” Dongwoo said, with a haughty touch.

“Don’t give him any ideas,” said Woohyun, also sitting at their table. “Do you know how many of the female trainees are already interested in him? You’ll have to take a number, Myungsoo, and the line’s already long.”

Woohyun preferred the receptive position as well, but he made Myungsoo do all the work. He preferred to be on his back, face to face as Myungsoo thrust into him, with his legs locked so tight around Myungsoo’s waist that it sometimes left bruises. 

“Are you interested in anybody right now, Woohyun?” Myungsoo asked, trying to make conversation, as he picked up a piece of tofu with his chopsticks.

“That will be a secret,” said Woohyun, giving a sly smile before spooning congee into his mouth.

“You really haven’t guessed yet,” said Dongwoo, looking at Myungsoo with a grin. “Isn’t it obvious who Woohyun likes? It’s somebody you’ve met onboard the station!”

Myungsoo stared at the two men, looking puzzled. He tried to think of Woohyun’s interactions with the other men aboard. There were only three other men in the station. Dongwoo and Woohyun had a close but purely platonic friendship. Howon and Woohyun had some chemistry to them: the two rivals were physically strong and handsome, and there could have been a sexual tension between them. There was also Kim Sunggyu, an aloof and mysterious man who rarely spoke to Myungsoo, even before or after sexual intercourse. And Myungsoo had never seen Sunggyu and Woohyun in the same room for any considerable time. One of them would always find an excuse to leave as soon as the other entered.

“Could it be Howon?” Myungsoo asked, settling on the likeliest candidate in his mind.

Howon was the gentlest out of all of the men Myungsoo practiced with, taking his utmost care to make sure that Myungsoo was properly lubricated before entering the trainee, and always attentive to whether he had to go slower or faster. But outside the bed, he was hot-tempered and assertive, trying to ensure that everybody else lived up to his perfectionist standards. Myungsoo thought Howon’s fierce nature was the perfect contrast to Woohyun’s cold and sultry allure.

“No,” snickered Dongwoo, forcing Woohyun to give a groan.

“Dongwoo, please. Everybody on the station will know at this rate,” said Woohyun, with a small measure of pleading.

If it wasn’t Dongwoo, and it wasn’t Howon, then there was only one person on this station that Myungsoo still knew. “Is it Sunggyu?”

Dongwoo clucked his tongue at Myungsoo and Woohyun groaned again.

“But,” Myungsoo said, furrowing his brow and trying to remember all that he could about Sunggyu, “isn’t Sunggyu straight? I could have sworn he said that being a Companion was just a job to him.”

Sunggyu was the roughest of Myungsoo’s partners, always trying to push Myungsoo past his limits. He took the penetrative role, and ensured he was always in control during sex. He was constantly warning Myungsoo that a Companion’s clients were not always gentle in bed. Sunggyu was always keen to see what Myungsoo was capable of, and he thanked the Companion for the advice.

“He is,” said Dongwoo, trying not to burst out laughing. “That’s why it’s so funny!”

Woohyun shook his head as he left the breakfast table. “You two jokesters can have fun at my expense on your own time. Howon’s going to be fucking me for the next hour.”

If Woohyun had thought his absence would deter Dongwoo, then he was sorely mistaken. Dongwoo regaled Myungsoo for an hour about Woohyun and Sunggyu’s relationship: how Woohyun had first met Sunggyu, and then fell head over heels in love with Sunggyu, and then confessed to the older man. Sunggyu responded by flatly rejecting Woohyun’s confession, and then refused to speak to Woohyun unless absolutely necessary.

“Sunggyu’s straight. Didn’t Woohyun know?” Myungsoo asked, still puzzled.

“He did, but he thought Sunggyu was playing hard to get, and it also played into Woohyun’s fantasy of seducing a man who thinks he’s straight,” Dongwoo answered.

“But Sunggyu really is straight,” Myungsoo said, and it was not a question.

“He is,” said Dongwoo, “which is going to make it difficult for us. Companion House Terakoya is thinking of making the _Infinite_ into a whorehouse. There’ll be seven Companions aboard: the five of us, and two new guys coming in soon. But it’s not going to work if Woohyun and Sunggyu don’t learn to get along with each other.”

“When are the two new trainees coming in?” Myungsoo asked, to change the subject.

“Next month,” said Dongwoo. “Their names are Lee Sungyeol and Lee Sungjong. Don’t get them mixed up.”

\---

Myungsoo had thought that Woohyun’s behavior could be ascribed to the fickle fancies of a man in love. He never thought it would happen to him.

The first trainee to arrive was Sungjong, a slender and slightly effeminate man whose wit and humor made him an intellectual match for any of the other men. He was also the most flexible out of the trainees, taking either sexual role depending on his mood. Myungsoo liked him, and they soon became good friends. 

The other man was Sungyeol. It wasn’t just the man’s humor and charm that caught Myungsoo’s eye. Myungsoo found Sungyeol the most attractive out of all the other trainees, with his massive smile and his long, firm legs. He also affixed his Companion’s mark in the most prominent location, at his hips across his entire lower back. In bed he was voracious, riding Myungsoo with one hand on the bed and the other hand on his member, all the while smiling at Myungsoo with those perfect teeth of his. When they practiced together, Myungsoo felt this odd, jumpy sensation in his chest whenever he looked at Sungyeol, as if his heart was overactive.

Myungsoo blamed the coffee habit which he had picked up from Sungyeol.

It wasn’t until the week when Myungsoo had cut out all caffeine from his diet that he realized, in fact, that he liked Sungyeol.

And it took him weeks later to act on his feelings. It had been after a relatively fun round of sex, one where Myungsoo changed things by taking the receptive role. After they had extricated their bodies from from each other, the two of them lay in the training room’s bed together, stuck to the sheets thanks to their slick bodies.

“You know, Sungyeol,” Myungsoo began, sitting upright while the other man was rearranging the pillows into a comfortable arrangement, “I think I like you.”

“Really?” Sungyeol sat upright as he heard. The other man’s eyes were wide as he looked at Myungsoo, and his smile was sharp and endearing. “What do you mean?”

“I want to know you more, and be closer to you,” Myungsoo said, his eyes locked onto Sungyeol’s. “Romantically. With love.”

Sungyeol gave that mellifluous laughter of his, while he reached out to ruffle Myungsoo’s sweaty hair.

“You’re really cute, Myungsoo, but I don’t like boys,” Sungyeol said, still looking at Myungsoo. And there must have been something in Myungsoo’s expression that upset Sungyeol, because the older man reached out a hand to brush against Myungsoo’s cheek. “But we can still be friends.”

And then Myungsoo realized he was crying, and he got up from the bed, wiping his nose and eyes. He walked back to his room, stark naked, not looking back.

He blamed hormones and teenage love and unrealistic expectations. And he blamed himself.

\---

Myungsoo groaned to himself as he sat back on his bed. He wanted to chastise himself and remind himself of what Woohyun had gone through. But at the same time, his mind rapidly formed justifications for why his situation was different. Sungyeol had never explicitly stated his sexual orientation, after all. His memories of Sungyeol, every laugh and smile they shared, soon became bitter in Myungsoo’s mouth. But it had been Myungsoo’s fault, after all. He was the one who failed to see the context. Companions were supposed to be able to read body language, and to subtly sift for clues about emotion and feeling. Myungsoo had done a miserable job at it, and he hurt himself in the process.

 _Bendan! Bendan!_ [5] He thought to himself, but there was nothing to be done. He had a training session with Howon later this evening, and he would be with Sungyeol tomorrow evening. There would be nothing left to do but go ahead.

He showered and cleaned up, thinking all the while. _A Companion like me puts all of his decisions about family, career, marriage, and reputation into the hands of the Guild. We can’t be hurt by our decisions if we don’t make any._

Myungsoo returned to the canteen aboard the _Infinite_ and saw three men sitting quietly there, eating dinner together. They were grilling _samgyeopsal_ on a barbeque and drinking beer. Howon’s back was to Myungsoo. What was surprising was to see Woohyun and Sunggyu sitting together.

Howon seemed not to notice Myungsoo, as the three of them ate.

“Lord Ning, I tell you, is the worst client,” Howon said, with his mouth full. “He can down an entire pint of whiskey in one sitting. And he expects me to go along with it, of course.”

Sunggyu gave a dismissive snort. “Sounds like he’d be too drunk to get it up. He’s on the board of Weyland-Yutani. He must be paying you well.”

“He’s not too drunk to get it up,” added Woohyun, turning towards Sunggyu to address the other man. “Instead, he’s just drunk enough that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s been my client twice. I’d give Lord Ning a black mark in the Companion’s registry, and block any Companion from taking him as a client.”

Sunggyu was facing Woohyun now too, looking the younger man in the eye. “I didn’t give Sir Moonen a black mark, and he certainly deserved it. He nearly killed somebody, right in front of me.”

“He wasn’t about to kill _you_ ,” retorted Woohyun, “so there was no reason to give him a black mark. If the Guild gave a black mark to every Alliance officer guilty of war crimes, our roster of clients would drop by half.”

“Please, Woohyun, we’re not going to rehash our arguments about Unification again, are we?” Sunggyu sniped. “I know you come from a planet that’s deep-Brown, while my family is deep-Gray, but the past is the past.”

Gray and Brown referred to the political divide in the Verse: the Independents were associated with the color brown, because they were famous for wearing brown leather trench coats. In contrast, the Alliance was associated with the color gray due to the color of their woollen uniform.

“We can, and we should make statements as Companions,” said Woohyun, brushing silver hair out of his eyes. “The Shepherds speak with moral authority. The Alliance speaks with the force of law. The Companions are inheritors of culture. We should have a say too.”

There was something about the way Woohyun and Sunggyu were speaking now that lifted Myungsoo’s spirits now. Woohyun and Sunggyu had been so estranged before, and now they were sitting here, talking to each other, looking at each other’s eyes. For just a second, Myungsoo wondered if that would be him and Sungyeol: their relationship changed due to a mistaken confession, but still open and earnest.

Myungsoo cleared his throat and made his way to the table. Woohyun and Sunggyu only gave him a moment’s glance, too engrossed in their conversation to notice him or even continue eating. Instead it was Howon who handed Myungsoo a plate and piled grilled pork belly on top of it.

“Let them have their conversation,” Howon said. Myungsoo gave a happy smile, and nodded.

Myungsoo was much less hesitant, then, when he saw Sungyeol again the next day. The taller man was already on the training bed, and the sight of him made Myungsoo want to smile again. The brusque, efficient manner in which Sungyeol was inserting his fingers into himself was all business. It could not have been mistaken for erotic at all.

“You’re here, Myungsoo! About yesterday, I wanted to say—”

He shook his head. “Let’s just get this over with, first, okay?”

Sungyeol nodded, not quite sure about what Myungsoo meant, but he let the younger man take the initiative. Myungsoo took a breath as he seated himself on the bed as well, and he knew his gaze was soft. In a way, it was dishonest.

Myungsoo lied to himself that night, for the first, and maybe the only, time in his career as a Companion. When he took Sungyeol’s member into his mouth, and when he next inserted himself into the taller man, and when he moaned at the heat, he pretended that Sungyeol really did like him back, that the two of them were a couple, and that he was happy that Sungyeol reciprocated his feelings.

Sungyeol climaxed first, stroking himself to completion and spilling his release onto the sheets underneath, and Myungsoo followed a short time later. Even then, Myungsoo wasn’t finished with that deception, pulling Sungyeol with him into the shower a minute later.

Myungsoo was finished, really finished, when he gave Sungyeol a soft kiss on the lips as water fell around them. Myungsoo felt like all of his stress, all of his worries, and his embarrassment, and his disappointment washed away as well. And then he pulled away, to dry himself. 

When they were finally clean and dry, they walked back wearing nothing but towels. After they sat down on the beds, Myungsoo was the one to speak first.

“About yesterday,” Myungsoo said. “I’m sorry if I surprised you, but I understand. You don’t like me, and you won’t. I understand that.”

Sungyeol gave a small pout, and he looked like wanted to apologize, but Myungsoo didn’t let him.

“I think it would be better if we did stay friends,” he said. “The _Infinite_ is going to open in a year, and we have our careers to think about in the future. I know it might be awkward, and I don’t expect you to forget about this, but we’re both Companions who will be able to work and live besides each other, right?”

Sungyeol nodded, and his eyes shone with enthusiasm.

“I do like you, Myungsoo, just not the way you were hoping. I do want to work with you, besides you, and alongside you. I’ve seen your enthusiasm for the type of work we do. I think we can make each other stronger,” Sungyeol said, almost bouncing on the bed with enthusiasm. “I don’t want anything to get in the way of our work together.”

Myungsoo nodded as well. “I do like you, Sungyeol, and I don’t think you should forget that, but that shouldn’t get in the way. I think we’ll be stronger if we work together than if we push each other apart.”

And then Sungyeol pulled Myungsoo into a tight hug, giving the younger man a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s be a good team!” He said, and Myungsoo laughed with him.

\---

In retrospect, Myungsoo was glad that Sungyeol never changed the way he acted. Myungsoo did, though. Every one of his actions was now fraught with memories, of a kiss or a smile.

Myungsoo was proud of being a Companion because it gave him mastery of his body, and control of his pose, and finesse over his stance. It meant that no matter what he may have thought of Sungyeol or how many times he dreamed of the other man, he would never show it.

\---

They eventually formed the _Infinite_ : a group of seven male Companions based in the pleasure district of Sihnon. They found widespread acclaim, developed famed reputations, and earned the adoration of millions throughout the Verse.

Before that happened, they all learned to work with each other. Sunggyu and Woohyun did start talking again. Myungsoo and Sungyeol did learn to work together as friends, with a bond close as brothers. 

And these are stories that Myungsoo will tell for all of his life, because he was a Beaumonde street urchin who found a beautiful world.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if there are any problems with these translations.
> 
> [1]: A new person came! He’s from Persephone!
> 
> [2]: Please be kind to me.
> 
> [3]: Do you understand?
> 
> [4]: Come in.
> 
> [5]: Stupid! Stupid!
> 
> \---
> 
> You can find me on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/west_of_autumn). I welcome your thoughts, suggestions, and comments!


End file.
